In November 2025 we had friends visiting us in South Africa. It wasn't the moment for a big safari adventure, but Michael and Danny still wanted to spend a bit of quality time in the field. Following some recommendations by family and friends we decided to arrange a week in Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, a 534km2 expanse of land near Kruger National Park in north-eastern South Africa.

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These private nature reserves mostly cater to "side quest" safari travellers. They can easily be added to a general travel itinerary, let's say where visitors would explore greater Cape Town, spend a bit of time in the winelands around Stellenbosch, perhaps take up a round of golf, some kite surfing, ride a mountain bike trail, or simply enjoy driving a stretch along South Africa's Garten Route. From here on it is super easy: just join a direct flight (ca. 2,5hrs) from Cape Town to Hoedspruit (HDS) where upon arrival you will be greeted by the driver of your transfer vehicle. Depending on any wildlife sightings along the way it takes a good hour or a bit more to reach most of the camps and lodges on Timbavati. We had selected Bateleur Camp for this excursion, as they offered the use of a vehicle reserved for the four of us. This is referred to as private vehicle, but of course it is not our own car, just one of the safari camp's special wildlife viewing vehicles reserved for us.

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When I say side quest safari travellers, I mean guests who are interested in experiencing the African bush, enjoy seeing wild animals in their natural habitat, but don't necessarily want to be burdened with planning and endeavouring on extensive safari expeditions. The private nature reserves around Kruger National Park offer exactly this: an easily accessible, safe, and well orchestrated experience that can be enjoyed without much effort or premeditation. Most notably, these are so-called Big Five Reserves, so they hold the five animal species historically most pursued by trophy hunters: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros.

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Bateleur Camp was cute and tidy, the staff was professional and friendly, and the cuisine served meals on a consistently solid level. The field experience provided what most visitors would be looking for and we even enjoyed a few highlights off the Big Five beaten track. To Malini and me it often felt somewhat fabricated with guides chasing after predator sightings and having to discretely queue up until their turn had come to pull up to a sighting. Then - understandably - the clock was ticking, as most often there would be further vehicles form other lodges waiting to access a sighting. It is clear that most guides are not used to having expert wildlife travellers and photographers on their vehicle. Not once did we encounter other guests with more serious or professional-grade camera equipment. Most visitors would just use their smartphones to record memories. This, in turn, had a negative effect on how guides positioned their vehicles when they approached wildlife, as it seemed not clear to them how the use of telephoto lenses changes desired angles and positioning for background. - But hey, this was just a relaxing excursion and over time we managed to build a good understanding with our guide. You may find that some of the photographic results will confirm this :-)

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I hope you enjoy what you find here!